Susan’s Blog

You must have a philosophy to hold the decision to and the decision must make sense based on that philosophy and secondly you must be able to be fully transparent. If you are able to make decisions based on these two general tenants you will more likely make good decision than not. They will be consistent and will be the type of decisions your followers will be comfortable with.  This approach also builds the most important thing any leader can have and that is the “trust of his or her followers.”.

The last 180 days has produced perhaps the most turmoil in corporate America has seen since the Great Depression.  As leaders, we ourselves can feel extremely distracted, confused, unsure and quite possibly angry depending upon the circumstances.  These feelings are substantially heightened for those we lead.  In times like this I have found that the best approach is to pause, study, listen and communicate.  I would say in that order too.

• Pause – slow yourself way down, watch what is going on around you, get your own bearings.

• Study – gather all of the information around the situation(s) as possible.  You have to understand the circumstances as well as you possibly can.  In the current environment that can be very challenging due to the complexities and multiple variables of the credit crisis, weak real estate, a failing economy, two wars…need I go on?  You will need to narrow the focus and decide what is key to your organization and its objectives and focus there.  This helps give you confidence in the situation and the direction in which you wish to lead.

• Listen – listen not to what people say, but both what they say and do.  I have had just this week an experience where I thought that I understood how someone felt about a specific situation and found that their emotional state was completely hiding how they really felt. It took listening to their words and encouraging them to speak their mind completely; it took a quiet demeanor on my part and a lot of space for them to fill as I listened to really get to their concerns.

• Communicate – Just as you would when communicating a new goal or objective; communicate key points as often and in as many venues (meetings, sidebar conversations, one on one’s) as possible.  People are watching you.   You must communicate with confidence and with clarity.  Know your points, be well prepared and if you don’t know something tell them so and then find out.  Here you must get back to them as soon as you can. If it is simply an answer that has not been decided yet, you simply say that and that you will keep them appraised on progress in the area.

Again, this is an extraordinary time.  If you are able to stand back and take a higher view, it is an interesting time.  It is uncomfortable for all of us, but as the leader, your people are counting on you.  They find their confidence in yours.  Keep these steps in mind and you will lead your people well.

With so much going on in the world, credit crisis, financial industry venturing near its brink, war(s) and a political campaign, are we doing enough to grow new leaders? I am asking you this? I would like for you to respond to me with your thoughts.  

I am frankly, very worried that we may not be growing the tough leaders we need. We may not be challenging our young people enough.  Most of our young learn about leadership in school through their course work and participation in leadership positions in their extra-curricular activities. This is all very, very good. The questions I ask myself are as follows:

• Do we solve problems for them? Won’t they learn more if they have to solve them their-selves?

• How far do we let them go down a path that will not work out? Or, do we worry about that at all as long as they or anyone else will not be hurt physically?

• Do we take the time to discuss with them why they made one decision over another? Are they learning how to make leadership decisions and why they make one over another?

You see, I believe we need tough leaders who can make the tough decisions and the only way most of us learn how to do that is through experience, failure and reflection.